Position of Anakpawis National Political Party on various regional, national, and international issues

Monday, September 12, 2005

NR0912:No respect for anti-impeachment solons

From the Office of Anakpawis Rep. Crispin BeltranNews Release September 12, 2005

Pro-Arroyo, anti-impeachment lawmakers cannot demand respect from Bishops or the public for what they did to the impeachment complaint

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that the assertion of administration lawmakers that bishops and other religious should respect the decision of Congress to kill the impeachment complaint against Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was a futile request.

He said that administration lawmakers who voted against the amendment impeachment complaint and upheld the Justice Committee Report 1012 which as messy and lacking in truth and credibility cannot expect the bishops much less the Filipino people demanding Mrs. Arroyo’s removal from office to respect what they, the anti-impeachment solons did.

“What’s to respect about what they did? The anti-impeachment, pro-administration solons threw out a perfectly legitimate impeachment complaint without even allowing its full contents to be read and discussed. They made a mockery of the impeachment process, and since they could not morally defend what they did or even just bolster their opposition to the complaint using legal explanations, they imposed the tyranny of numbers and killed the complaint,” he said.

“No right-thinking Filipino who would saw the Justice Committee deliberations and the plenary debates on the committee report would say that what Congress did to the complaint is respectable. If anything, the conduct of the pro-administration lawmakers was appalling. They deliberately disregarded all arguments of truthfulness, credibility and even legality to kill the complaint.”

P3B budget cuts to fund Cha cha

In the meantime, the veteran labor leader turned lawmaker said that the House appropriations committee’s statement that it’s eyeing P3-billion cuts in various agencies' allocations so that there will be money to pursue the administration's move for constitutional changes was a contentious issue.

“It’s highly anomalous that Congress would even consider cutting budgets for various departments and their services including those engaged in the provision of health, housing and education just to steamroll the campaign for charter change which no one supports,” he said. ”The complete lack of funds for it is the simplest and most practical reason why the Cha cha agenda should be junked. Besides, Filipinos would much rather dance the Macarena – or Macapagal Resign Na – and not Cha cha.” #